I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of medical evaluation tools and more particularly to a system and method for osteoporosis assessment, including fracture risk assessment, therapy needs determination and therapy progress measurement.
II. Description of the Related Art
It is estimated that 10 million Americans have osteoporosis and 44 million are at risk to develop osteoporosis because they have low bone density. Typically, many people with osteoporosis are not treated. The number of individuals who receive therapy treatment for prevention of osteoporosis or vertebral fractures is significantly less than the number of individuals referred for osteoporosis symptom management. Preventative therapy typically includes providing individuals with general osteoporosis information that simply includes recommendations not to twist or bend to prevent vertebral fractures. However, the information does not include any personalized information designed and catered to the activities in which the patient is presently engaged. No information is provided instructing patients how to modify their bodily motions to decrease risks associated with osteoporosis.
Historical approaches to fracture risk prediction begin with measuring bone mineral density (BMD) then modifying the BMD threshold for treatment depending on the presence or absence of other determined risk factors associated with osteoporosis (i.e., age, height, medications, caffeine intake, smoking, familial history, steroid use, calcium intake, age at menopause) (Ott, 2004; McLung, 1999; Cummings, 1995; Greenspan, 1994; Sorenson et al., 1996). Algorithms for lifetime fracture risk, near-term and future risk of fracture are prevalent in the literature (Miller et al., 2004; Cooper, 2001; Frost, 2001; Greenspan, 1994). There are few known fracture prediction models that incorporate BMD with biomechanical stresses associated with ordinary functional movement behavior (Myers and Wilson, 1997). However, no known model has been applied to clinical practice.